Fri, 27 February 2009  This week we're doing a show with a bit of fluff and some hopefully interesting substance. We open talking about a movie we saw recently, the stop-motion feature Coraline. After that, we move into the meat of the show as we examine technologies are so woven into the fabric of daily life that we don't even notice it anymore. Fire, shoes, the phone....all so common we barely notice them, but how critical do they become when they're gone? Enjoy! Opening Music: "Alive WIP v2" by George Carpenter Closing Music: "Blau.ton" by Rauschwerk Comments[5] |
Fri, 20 February 2009 You'll have to excuse my voice this week, not sure why it was so rough but it was. We start off this week witht the question of what does 'buying American' mean, and does it even apply any more in our highly globalized society? This leads us to wonder if we arriving at a disconnect in our culture that is leading to issues like the recent salmonella peanut butter outbreak. Enjoy! Opening Music: "Alive WIP v2" by George Carpenter Closing Music: "Blau.ton" by Rauschwerk Comments[3] |
Fri, 13 February 2009 This week we're just floating along, no particular heading but still much on the sea to see. We start with some musings on the interesting effects of editorial changes in movies, triggered specifically with the changes made to the recent film Taken. The editing discussion gradually becomes a dialogue on censorship, and specifically on the boundaries of what we call censorship. We talk a bit about the recent California BART shooting, then blaze through some other much less important stories that have gotten bigger coverage, for example this one or the Christian Bale meltdown. Moving on, I espouse my love of Cracked.com, which bizarrely enough leads into a discussion on past military conflicts and also the power of mythology. Finally, we touch on the deep underlying philosophical meanings behind the Bill Murray film Groundhog Day. Enjoy! Opening Music: "Alive WIP v2" by George Carpenter Closing Music: "Blau.ton" by Rauschwerk Comments[4] |
Fri, 6 February 2009 This week we decide to see what our version of a train wreck show will be like. No structure, not everyone even showing up on time, along with some sound effects that may unseat Lando's chewing as the most annoying thing in the background yet. Enjoy! Cooter's gaming tags cooterhatesyou (Steam & xbox live) Lando's gaming tag rameshacklee (Steam) Joe's gaming tags godhammer (Steam) godhammer29 (PSN) Opening Music: "Alive WIP v2" by George Carpenter Closing Music: "Blau.ton" by Rauschwerk Comments[5] |
Tue, 3 February 2009  I'm sure many of you have read or heard about the recent flap with Michael Phelps after a photo of him with abong surfaced. Phelps ended up issuing a big apology for his actions, and as learned more about this I couldn't help thinking that this seemed an awful lot of attention over something pretty stupid. Then I read this article today and decided to post some thoughts on it. In some ways, this all goes back to the whole 'role model athlete' idea. Those who make it big in professional sports are supposed to be 'role models' for kids, or some nonsense like that. I've always thought this was a pretty silly notion, pointing to a famous athlete and saying, "Now Johnny, be like him!" Sure, there's a good reason to point to someone successful and tell your kid to strive for that, but isn't the idea of the 'role model athlete' a bit much? Are you really sure that having your child think he can be Michael Jordan is a good thing? The problem with many of the finer examples of athleticism is that they're so rare. For every Michael Phelps you have a Dennis Rodman, for every Michael Jordan a John Rocker. Barack Obama, on the other hand, makes sense as a person to try to emulate. It's highly unlikely you'll be President, but the effort to get there will still put you ahead in life. Studying, working hard, community service...all good things to be a part of. Trying to be a pro football player, though? Well, hope you don't blow that knee or be driven so hard in a school practice that you die. And even if you work really really hard, without the natural gifts most top athletes have, you probably won't make it. I'm not saying I'm against sports, they can be great socializing activities and they do contribute to a pursuit of excellence. What I am saying is that we need to stop making these people out to be above the rest of us in anything other than what's on the playing field (or swimming pool.) Michael Phelps, the top gold winning Olympian of all time, should not have to apologize for smoking pot. It's his life, let him do what he wants. Joe Category: Blog Post -- posted at: 1:03 PM Comments[8] |
